What I Did For Love
by NeverLeavingx
Summary: Lily, James and their friends are in their sixth year at Hogwarts. And, just four weeks in, tension is already starting to simmer between the Sixth Year Gryffindors...
1. The Quidditch And The Friend

**What I Did For Love**

**Chapter One: The Quidditch and The Friend**

"_What_?" Lindsey's high-pitched squeal reached up to the girl's dormitory, where three girls were gathered on a bed. Knowing better than to interfere, they each stayed where they were, exchanging worried glances.

Downstairs, in the common room, Noelle shrugged carelessly, looking her soon to be ex-best friend in the eye.

"I'm quitting the team," she repeated, more slowly this time. Her left, finely tweezed eyebrow winged up. "Problem?"

_Problem_. Lindsey mouthed the word, staring in disbelief at the girl who stood in front of her. Her hair had been carefully styled into a sophisticated bun, her face plastered in make-up that, in Lindsey's personal opinion, made her look like a drag queen.

She was wearing a dress. Rose red, it barely reached halfway down her thigh and clung to every little curve.

_  
Of course there's a problem_, Lindsey thought, clenching her jaw. _My best friend looks like Bianca 'My Middle Name Is Annoying' Reynolds. _

_  
Who _wouldn't_ have a problem with that? _

But worse- so much worse- was the fact that she was actually _acting_ like the self-appointed 'Queen of Hogwarts'.

"Noelle, you can't just quit." Feeling horrifically vulnerable, Lindsey shoved her hands in her pockets and stared down at the floor. "We need you," she whispered in a voice only audible to Noelle. The people who watched them edged nearer to listen.

"To what? Win you some stupid trophy?" Noelle scoffed, rolled her eyes. Actions that didn't betray the fact that tears were threatening her eyes, that her heart was actually shattering inside her chest. "Find someone else. I'm through with Quidditch."

That said, she whirled around and walked, on legs that weren't quite steady, over to the porthole. When she was gone, Lindsey turned and ran up the stairs to her dormitory, knowing that she'd just lost her best friend.

* * *

Noelle leant against the cold stone wall, slowly lowering herself until she was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest. As the tears swarmed down her cheeks, she hugged her legs, trying desperately not to blubber. 

She and Lindsey had been best friends ever since she could remember. They'd done everything- literally everything- together. Including Quidditch.

Merlin, what was James going to say?

Noelle's jaw dropped when she remembered the other girls in her house and year. Lily, Nicole, Megan. Surely they would take sides with Lindsey; ever since September Noelle had been spending less and less time with her, and the other three sixth year Gryffindors were the girls she had tagged along with. In just one month, they had become quite close friends.

They were going to hate her.

Like Lindsey hated her.

Mother of Merlin, what had she done?

All because of Him.

* * *

Kevin Bradshaw sat in his favourite armchair, watching with interest as Bianca Reynolds flirted shamelessly with his best friend. 

The girl surely was the embodiment of perfection. Flawless skin, film star bone structure, killer ice blue eyes and all that wild jet-black hair. She was just begging to be stared at and admired- or envied- wherever she went.

But it wasn't just the looks that had Kevin hooked on her. It was the way she moved, so beautifully, the sound of her voice, low, throaty, and enchanting. It was that spark she got in her eyes when she smiled, the way she bit her lip when she was worried.

Little, unimportant things that stayed with him when he was in bed, dreaming of her.

But, because life was like that sometimes, he couldn't have her. Instead, he had to settle for the Quidditch playing Gryffindor with the loudmouthed best friend. Hopefully, Noelle- he thought that was her name- had gotten rid of those two particularly bad problems; the Quidditch and the Friend.

Hell if a girlfriend of his was going to play Quidditch, and hell if he was going to be embarrassed in front of his peers by her tomboy friend.

Over the past four weeks or so, he'd managed to ease her out of the same tomboy tendencies, getting his sister to teach her basic grooming techniques he'd have thought most girls already knew.

Obviously not.

According to his sister, it had taken the girl a whole evening to grasp the concept of eyeliner. Kevin had laughed when Georgina told him; it was a little black pencil, how complicated could it be?

He could have always picked a different girl of course. The Bradshaw charm, the Bradshaw smile and the Bradshaw wealth had girls from every year trying desperately to catch his eyes. He could have had easily chosen any one of them.

But Noelle- Belle?- bore quite a large amount of similarities to Bianca. Appearance wise, anyway. The personality section was lacking, but, to be fair, it was steadily improving.

All in all, he was satisfied with how her metamorphosis going. If things kept going his way, he might even consider taking her home to meet his parents at Christmas.

It was just one more thing to think about…

**End of Chapter One**


	2. Friends

A/N: One thing I forgot to mention was the disclaimer. Everything you recognize from the Harry Potter books belongs to the ever-wonderful J.K.Rowling, and I am certainly not making any money from writing this. All things you do not recognize, however, belong to me, including Origanal Characters, plot, and any other thing you, uh, don't recognize...

Miss Elfie --- Thank you for the review, it is much appreciated, and all the more because of the constructive criticism. I hope this chapter is easier to follow, if not then please tell me. D

* * *

Chapter Two : Friends

He kicked his trunk with a great amount of force, then swore loudly, and not just because of the sharp pain that was now pulsing in his big toe. His hands came up, fisted in his hair, and he swore again.

Sirius watched from where he lay on the bed, hands clasped behind his head, holding it up, and with his ankles crossed. Concerned, but mostly just amused, he watched as his friend paced up and down the dormitory, abusing several pieces of the furniture as he went.

He didn't know what was up with James, but he was content to simply lay back and watch him as he took out his anger on the surroundings.

And then Remus, the sensible one, the _reasonable_ one, had to ruin the show.

"Is there any particular reason why you're attacking the décor?" he said in his calm, easy-going voice, the only sign of amusement in his pale blue eyes. Turning around, James stuffed his fisted hands into his pockets. His nostrils were flared, his jaw clenched. His was the face of a man truly outraged.

"Noelle quit the team." He had never been the type who meandered casually around a serious subject, so he delivered the news bluntly. The frustration, the anger, he felt showed in his voice, and it was that more than anything that had the other two boys jerking to attention.

"Bradshaw." There was no question in Sirius' voice; he was stating a fact. A fact that made his teeth clench and his skin crawl.

_That little slime ball._

"Got it in one," James said with a bitter smile. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his heart. "You should have seen Lindsey when she told me. She was a mess. Crying and shaking and asking all these questions."

His head jerked up, and he looked straight at Sirius. "I didn't tell you that. Don't tell anyone I did. She'd skin me alive if she found out you knew."

"Because she'd probably skin me as well, don't worry. Your secret's safe with me," assured Sirius, his lips curling into a sneer. But James knew that he would keep his promise- as would Remus.

And perhaps it was better that was better that Peter wasn't there. It wasn't that the kid was untrustworthy but… he could sometimes let a few little details slip. James didn't blame him. The guy didn't have a lot going for him, and maybe by gossiping a little bit he got to have his fair share of the limelight.

This was something that James couldn't afford to be gossiped about. Lindsey was counting on him. She trusted him. He wasn't going to let her down.

Besides, if he did tell Peter, and Peter went on to tell everyone else, Lily would probably find that a reason to hate him even more. That was the last thing he wanted.

* * *

The Common Room was almost empty. Megan and Nicole had already gone up to bed, leaving her alone with Lindsey.

It had been alright when it had been the three of them talking to her, comforting her. Because, Lily admitted, it had mostly been Nicole doing the talking, Megan doing the comforting. She had just sat and watched, doing nothing, helping no one.

But what had she meant to do? She couldn't talk endlessly about nothing in particular like Nicole, nor could she compliment a person, tell them how great, how special they were and sound sincere like Megan.

The only thing that Lily had to offer were her brains. Doubtfully, Lily glanced over at Lindsey, and watched as she slowly - almost mournfully - polished her broomstick. As far as she knew, she had never been one to talk with enthusiasm about schoolwork.

"I'm sorry if you think I'm interfering or anything," Lindsey said quietly and, glancing up, caught the frown on Lily's face.

"Interfering?"

"Yeah, you know, with your friendship and stuff. I feel like an idiot for attaching myself to you guys when we haven't really had that much contact in the past… and stuff." Lindsey shrugged, and went back to her polishing.

"You're not interfering. And I'm sorry if I haven't gone out of my way to make you feel welcome but… it's a little awkward, ya know?"

"A little awkward?" Lindsey glanced up again, lips curved into a small smile. Then, defiantly, she sat up straight, resting the now gleaming broomstick across her crossed legs. Her chin came up, and there was a hardness about her face that had been there before the mess with Noelle.

"So are we, like, friends now?" she asked in a tone that suggested to Lily that if she said no, there'd be trouble.

"Er… sure." Lily managed a small, only slightly confused, smile, and shook the hand that Lindsey offered.


End file.
